Tag: unboxing

By now, I am sure many of you have heard of the Noelle Floyd subscription box designed to pamper equestrians. A few awesome equestrian bloggers reviewed the first box that was released in September (The Hunky Hanoverian , Horse Glam and The Hunt to name a few), and after reading their reviews, I just had to try the box out for myself.

The price is $60 per box, but NF claims that each box contains products with total retail of $100+. That sounds pretty great, right?

When I purchased my subscription, I ended up receiving both the September and December boxes, so I decided to review both in one post. I will start off with the September box and then move into the December box. Once I have reviewed the contents of both, I will make the final decision on whether I think it is worth the money to buy a subscription or not. Let’s get started! 🙂

The September Box

1. Dreamers and Schemers Socks (Retail Value: $17.95)

This was hands down my favorite item in the whole box! D&S socks are the bomb.com, and this pair is no exception. I love that the polka dots are actually knitted into the socks rather than just a print, and the saying “stay grounded” that is on the bottom is just plain cute. Overall, I would give these a 10/10.

Ok, so I am not normally on the essential oils train but I actually love these rollerballs. I use them almost daily, and I am pretty convinced that the De-Stress rollerball is the reason I have been sleeping so well. I use it every night before bed and let me tell you, I have been sleeping so well! Overall, I would give these a 9/10.

Sadly, I was not a fan of this product. Don’t get me wrong, I love some good lotion, but I just can’t get past the strong turmeric smell of this one. It also doesn’t help that it is a bit greasy. Its only saving grace is that it is quite moisturizing and helped my chapped hands. It isn’t terrible, but it just isn’t something that I will be reaching for again. Overall, I would give it a 4/10.

4. Equestrian Wellness Essential Helmet Spray (Retail value: $14)

I actually really liked this spray. The scent is not too overpowering and it does a really good job of keeping my helmet liner fresh in between washings. I just spritz a little on the liner before putting my helmet back in my ringside bag and it’s good to go for the next ride. There’s not much else to say about it other than that. 😬 Overall, I would give it an 8/10.

5. Ruespari Thin Surcingle Belt (Retail Value: $75)

Some of you all are going to hate me, but I actually didn’t like the belt. 🙈 After reading other reviews, I was a bit worried that mine might not fit (I’m no stick you know) but lo and behold, it did. I will disclose that it was a bit snugger than I would like though. My biggest complaint: I just plain don’t like how thin it is. All of my favorite belts (Ellany and Tailored Sportsman) are all 2″ to fit the belt loops on my Tailored Sportsman breeches. I’m not quite sure the exact width, but I know for a fact it isn’t 2″. It also doesn’t help that the belt is not as stretchy as I would like for a surcingle belt. I keep asking myself this question: Why in the heck is this belt priced at $75? I can go out and buy one of these types of belts for $40 right now! I guess you’re just paying for the name at this point. Overall, I would give this belt a 3/10.

6. $50 Credit To The NF. Shop

Even though I haven’t used mine yet, this actually really made the box for me. Who doesn’t love a good gift card? Not me!

The total value of the box ended up being $189.04 with the credit included – 3x the initial price of the box ($60).

The December Box

1. Savvy Muscle Cream (Retail Value: $28)

Heh, I actually ended up using this straight out of the box as the old man (Diablo) decided that I was getting a little too comfortable and proceeded to reintroduce me to the ground today. I guess that’s what I get for thinking I could ride around on a loose rein on a windy day. 🤷‍♀️ Anyway, to get to the point, I like this product. The scent is not offensive (it has a minty type smell) and feels nice and cooling on the skin. The cream is also not super thick or greasy, so the application is not messy or unpleasant. I actually do think this helped a bit with my soreness a bit, but it definitely can’t do the wonderous things Advil can do. I also just have to mention that I like the wording on the can: for rusty humans. It’s fitting, right? Overall, I give this product an 8/10.

2. Equestrian Wellness Campfire Story Candle (Retail Value: $32)

I was actually super excited to open the box and find a candle inside. If you have read some of my other blog posts, you know that I am addicted to Grey Horse Candle Co. Those candles are the bomb! This candle, however, was a miss for me in the scent department. I hate the smoky scent of it, which was disappointing. I really wanted to like it. On the plus side, the candle itself is actually really well made and the label was very well thought out design wise. Overall, I give this product a 1/10.

3. Bibimbap Lip Treatment (Retail: $26 $12)

I must be missing something here. Is this not just lip balm? The words lip treatment makes it sound really fancy, but I am pretty sure this is just lip balm. Either way, I really like it. The scent is really nice (lemongrass is one of my favorite scents), it feels smooth and soothing on the lips, and it does moisturize them really well. It’s really good lip balm but it’s totally not worth the orginal $26 price tag. Overall, I would give it a 9/10.

4. Platinum Bar EQ (Retail Value: $3.10 per bar)

I was kind of confused when I saw this one. My first thought was: they sent me a granola bar? Well, boy, was I wrong about that one. This is, in fact, a granola bar for horses. Ok, well, it isn’t actually a granola bar, but that is what it looks like to me. It is really a horse “treat” made by the makers of Platinum horse supplements. If I’m reading the description right, it says that each of these bars is equivalent to feeding one serving of their Platinum Performance Equine Wellness supplement. The real question here is: why would I want to feed my horse an expensive “treat” bar twice a day when I can just dump a scoop of the supplement in their feed? I don’t know. It just seems kind of pointless to me. Did I forget to mention that a box of 22 of these puppies (11 days worth) is $66? I can get a 10 lb tub of this stuff (34 days worth) for $60. Yeah, no thanks. Overall, I give this a 1/10 only because Diesel seemed to like it. I just don’t see the point.

5. $70 Off A One Year Subscription of NF. Insider

I’m not quite sure that I will ever use this since even with the discount code, their subscription still costs $80, but the sentiment was nice! If any of you have a NF. Insider subscription, please let me know if it is worth the money or not. I am curious to know!

The total value of this box ended up being $145.10 with the coupon for NF. Insider included – a little over 2x the value of the initial $60 you spent on the box.

My overall verdict on the NF subscription boxes: If you like wellness and beauty items, this box might peak your interest. If you like horse-related items, then you might want to try Cavali Club instead.

I thought the boxes themselves were ok overall. However, I did feel that the first one was better than the second – especially when it came to the added coupon/credit.

Although not everything was a win for me, I can’t completely blame the misses on NF as everything comes down to personal preference. That’s just kind of the risk you take whenever you order these types of subscription boxes. That being said, I honestly like these type of boxes because you can try some really neat stuff that you normally might never pick up on its own, which I did with these boxes.

I have two critiques for NF. The first would be that I wish the second box would have included another item rather than the coupon code for NF. Insider. That $70 could have been used to buy another big ticket item or two smaller items that could have really put the box over the top. As it stands, the box was not up to standards for me. The second is that I wish they would have included a little note saying which rider chose what item and why in the box itself. I know that they gave you the link to the webpage that said all of that, but I think that having it right there in the box would have added a special touch to it that many people would have appreciated. I know I would have. Just providing a link seems a little lazy to me, but that’s just my opinion.

The final question remains: Will I continue my subscription? For now, yes I will. I am extremely curious to see how NF improves from here. I am crossing my fingers that the next box will knock it out of the park for me and not another wild miss! Let’s just say that if the next box was as big of a miss as the December box was for me, then I will not continue to subscribe.

What about you guys? Would you subscribe? Let me know down in the comments!